May 22, 2022
When I was a young child my mother showed my photograph to my grandmother. My grandmother asked what was on my face. My mother was baffled because she always washed my face after I ate. She later realized that it was a rash. We had eaten spaghetti.
My mother enjoyed serving fresh cut vegetables on a glass dish. The dish had a divider in the middle but it stopped about 1” before the end. She would serve a sliced tomato on one side and on the other side were carrot sticks, celery sticks and olives. I always threw a fit if tomato juice ended up on the carrots. I stated that I didn’t like tomatoes. She came back with I wouldn’t know because I had never tried them. The tomato juice on the carrots was always so very bitter to me.
As a teenager I was eating next to an open window. As I ate I found that I was not able to breathe for a short period of time. I assumed it was because of the strength of the wind that had blown directly onto me. We were eating spaghetti.
Later I was helping my mother pick tomatoes from a friend’s garden. The sensation of fire raced up my arms, jumped to my neck and then my face.
Whenever I ate raw onions I would get a mild headache. I could eat a small amount of green onions and be ok. I could never figure out why.
A friend in college invited me to her family picnic. I brought potato salad. Everyone loved it but the mother would not let one of the brother’s have any. She said that it was because of the sugar in it. I told her that I had not added any sugar. She was shocked and at first in disbelief. Once she was convinced there was no added sugar she let her son enjoy it. The son had childhood diabetes.
We then had a conversation about food ingredients and health concerns. This is when I started to learn about food allergies and sensitivities.
At this time in my life I was also experiencing hypoglycemia symptoms.
My first child would react to food dyes. I had people tell me that he was ADHD. There were times when I felt like he was literally climbing the walls. I noticed that this happened after he had eaten certain things.
I was a single parent and in my early 20’s. I believed the commercials and advertising at the grocery store. Additionally, because I was pressed for time then pre-made dinners were very easy and appealing.
His favorite was a T.V. dinner consisting of chicken nuggets, corn and a brownie that had red, blue, yellow and green sprinkles. I started to connect his “wall climbing” behavior with whenever he ate this meal. I then started to make other connections. I realized that he was reacting to the red food die.
As soon as I eliminated the red food dye from his diet his behavior changed. He also had some emotional needs that were not being met. I focused more on him. All he needed was a reassurance of my love for him and his importance in my life.
My daughter was born with severe eczema. I later found out that this was a sign of food allergies. As I would feed her real food I discovered that she would be fine the first time. But, the second time she at it she would get 3 little red dots on her abdomen. If I feed it to her a third time she would break out with little red dots all over. This is when I learned that there really is a difference between preservatives. By the time she was two years old she had 18 things that she could not eat without having some kind of reaction. Peanut butter was on the list.
When my youngest son turned two he started having diarrhea. What changed? I realized that this happened whenever he drank milk. He had been drinking milk for a year and been fine.
I have spent my entire adult life trying to learn about and understand food allergies and sensitivities. Both for my benefit and that of my children.
I have learned some basics of things like:
We are born with digestive enzymes
The food that we eat dictates our health (Additionally, In the last few years I have learned that our thoughts and emotions also dictate our health)
It really does matter that there are things sprayed onto our food while it grows
It also matters that there are things added to our food before it goes to the grocery store
Foods are related i.e..: tomatoes, onions & potatoes / stevia, chamomile & ragweed
In an effort to get my children to understand how important food is to their health I developed 3 food rules.
Does it have 5 ingredients or less?
Can you pronounce all of the ingredients on the package?
Were the ingredients made by nature or man?
If it passed all 3 questions then it was good to eat. If it passed some but not all then we talked about if it really was ok to eat it or not. If it didn’t pass any of the questions then we would ask ourselves if that was something that we really wanted inside our body. I would let them decide.
Please keep in mind that “bad” food is ok sometimes but not frequently. They make our bodies work extra hard and make us more susceptible to illness and chronic diseases. People, especially children, should not be shamed in any way for participating in the group activity. And, sometimes our bodies crave that “bad” item.
As my children saw the benefit in their own lives then they would choose to tell people that they would not participate in what was being consumed. My daughter has remained true to this, on her own, even into her adult life. My younger son is more likely to eat the processed food that is available.
It is their decision what they eat. I know that I did my best to provide them with a healthy foundation. Now, they get to choose and receive the rewards of their decisions.
I have learned that:
Food reactions can be overcome and frequently eliminated
It took time for our bodies to become un-well. It will take time for them to become whole again. But, it is doable!
Diligence and Perseverance on my part are invaluable
My example speaks volumes to my family
If I am craving something that is not on the healthy list then I need to find out what it offers that my body is deficient in and then properly address that need
I am inviting you to come explore and learn more about these and other health related topics with me.
I will be discussing:
Eating the Rainbow can be fun, enjoyable and beneficial to our bodies: mentally, emotionally, physically & spiritually
How food affects our different body systems. Are you even aware of all the different systems in your body? I wasn’t until recently.
Which herbs and essential oils strengthen our different systems
How emotions and our attitudes affect our health
Whatever other fun and enjoyable topics come up along the path of our learning journey
Thank you for your patience and support as we travel this path together.
Do you have a family friendly & healthy eating recipe that you would be willing to share? Please leave it in the comments below. Thank You!
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